The Folly of the Stewards
by cojack
Summary: C/7. Set in AU#2 established in fanfiction story "Alternatives." Follows Phstk's journey to evade the so-called 'Multiverse Stewards' and return to his own universe with the help of Chakotay and Seven.
1. The Dissident

DISCLAIMER: It's Paramount's galaxy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: C/7. Set in AU#2 established in fanfiction story "Alternatives." Follows Phstk's journey to evade the so-called 'Multiverse Stewards' and return to his own universe with the help of Chakotay and Seven.

#

THE FOLLY OF THE STEWARDS

Stardate 57833.5 (AU#2)

# Chapter 1 – The Dissident

…

Observer's summary: At this point, timeline proceeds at 0.15 in a general deviation of -0.106 from median, even though confluence not originally determined for this timeline. Target subject 7234 for follow-up observation at E577:367:00.0.

End – E577:345:09.3

5582

Key indicator (7234/5): -0.02 (13% improve)

General: nominal

#

Phstk retracted his left posterior tentacle and considered the report he just completed. His coloring changed from brown to a deep crimson as he relaxed. It was the last of the reports required for this most recent spatiotemporal confluence on subject 7235 and he could now turn his attention to planning the recruitment incursion on subject A823 in universe 98743. Why the Hierarchy was interested in that creature, he couldn't fathom.

He paused and tapped the silicon surface of the desk in front of him. The particular universe of this final report hadn't been the reason for the confluence, and in fact, showed the least deviation of the various timelines involved. Because it was the easiest to summarize, however, he had saved it until last. It was ready to go, but he had a strange feeling he was forgetting something. After submission, the report would be filed within the manifold and be accessible from this point forward by all the Stewards.

Using this bank of knowledge Phstk could look across the dimension of time at any of the accessible universes if he wished. He could peer into the distant past, back to the creation of the Stewards, or gaze at the multiple future probability reports and visibility trends across universes. And then, of course, all the time-loops, dead-end tracks, parallel transmuted streams, and other variants possible in a universe's timeline. The volume of information was daunting, but fortunately Phstk was only responsible for a tiny fraction. He couldn't imagine anyone really being interested in the detailed results concerning the decillions of individual sentient consciousnesses of the particular universes he governed. Perhaps the information was used by someone in the Hierarchy for other purposes. No doubt to justify their existence or the prominence of the Stewards themselves or to bolster the position of one of the various factions in the Hierarchy.

His coloring switched back to brown suddenly. He needed to be more careful. He stopped tapping with his tentacle and quickly sent the final report into the manifold. He clicked to himself nervously.

Might something in the Hierarchy be eavesdropping on his thoughts right now as easily as he was able for the creatures in the various universes of the multiverse?

Unconsciously, Phstk reached with one of his anterior tentacles and picked up the crystalline dodecahedron on the shelf by his desk as the confirmation receipt from the Steward Hierarchy arrived. Being a mental construct of his own design, there was not much else contained within the confines of his office and living area. Some Stewards made elaborate dwellings for themselves, but Phstk preferred a very simple existence. He let the small solid roll about on his tip as it spun in the micro-gravity environment he preferred. A similar sensation, if he recalled correctly, to the upper atmosphere of his homeworld. Something about this last universe still concerned him. It elicited a memory, and he hesitated before continuing with his work.

Fully, this was universe A7/9-11793-RR-5582. 5582 was its abbreviated designation. But what was it that seemed so familiar? He glanced over at the dodecahedron and sighed, his expression sounding like a whistle of wind through trees, which of course was approximately what it was for the auditory sounds made through the air was how his species communicated. His species.

Phstk waved his left posterior tentacle over the desk again and some figures and reports appeared before his multifaceted eyes. His eyes were at the end of stalks that protruded from the top of his main body. He studied the timeline carefully, and then clucked excitedly, with sounds similar to the last part of his name. That was, of course, where his name was derived, given to him by his birth mother after his hydronization ceremony all those years ago. Of course. This was _his_ universe. Generations ago, but this was the very universe where he was created and from which he was extracted and recruited by the Stewards.

A sign perhaps?

He sighed again at the revelation and turned to regard the dodecahedron once more. For the countless time he regarded the solid's physical form and wondered if it truly existed as matter or was it simply a manifestation of his consciousness. The Hierarchy professed they existed in a sub-space manifold within the higher dimensional space of the multiverse, outside but just touching at all space-time each of the individual universes themselves. They insisted the "space" within this manifold did not contain baryonic matter, but rather only the individual consciousnesses of the Stewards, and of course the volume of information created and stored by them. His office and living area, these reports detailing his work, his own body and that of the solid he was currently holding were simply constructs of his consciousness and those of the other Stewards. According to the Hierarchy, the facsimile of their world here was an illusion. Within the manifold of higher dimensional space, each Steward had complete control over form and structure of the constructs they created in their mind. Or rather, the consciousness that once was contained within the mind. Everything he saw in the manifold, all the interactions with other Stewards, where only those constructs of the group consciousness. As he thought this, Phstk created the other four perfect solids to float beside the dodecahedron, all made with different precious metals. A tetrahedron of silver, a cube of gold, an octahedron of platinum, and an icosahedron of dilithium.

There were only five perfect solids in a three-dimensional spatial domain. Each face the same shape, and the same number of faces meeting at each vertex. A mathematical property that transcended all universes and the multiverse itself, within and without the manifold. In a strange way, it was comforting to Phstk to know of their existence. Regardless of the wishes of the Hierarchy, this mathematical reality could not be manipulated or changed. It just was. It existed always and transcended the Stewards and the Hierarchy. It belonged to a higher purpose.

The five solids danced about his tentacles as he juggled them in the microgravity of his environment. These were materials he knew about before becoming a Steward, but never actually saw until he entered the manifold. But was he really even seeing them now? Was this simply all really just a construct?

He swept the solids aside and returned to looking at the display in front of him. How long had he been here, a Steward within the Hierarchy? He could easily pull up the report detailing his recruitment. Did that matter? He was ageless now, a facsimile of his form which he was when extracted from his universe. His last memory of his home was gliding in the thick upper atmosphere of his planet. Feeding by the hydrogen geysers, the colors of the methane clouds at sunset, hunting the leviathans of the deep atmosphere. Did his body remain there with only his consciousness brought into the manifold? An empty shell. It would be gone by now. Perhaps eaten by one of the beasts, or crushed in the lower atmosphere. He shuddered at the thought and pulsed green.

Or was his body somewhere else, perhaps even somewhere within the manifold? The Hierarchy didn't say, and other Stewards he trusted to whom he whispered the question didn't know. If not the same subspace manifold, perhaps the even greater dimensional manifold the dissidents speculate about? The Hierarchy denied its existence, but mathematically, there was no reason to exclude the possibility.

Phstk turned an even darker shade of brown. He was letting his thoughts wander, and that was dangerous.

But universe 5582. He was briefly in contact with that universe through subject 7235. Might it be possible to return?

Phstk's eyes widened and the stalks moved closer to the display. His home planet was close to subject 7235's current position in that universe and timeline. A slight deviation to their current course would bring them there. It showed only a 0.73% probability of this happening, but he worked with lower probabilities before and achieved success. Of course, those were sanctioned incursions or confluences by the Hierarchy.

But 7235 was so close, and with subject 7234 on the same vessel.

It _was_ a sign. A sign from the greater dimensional manifold.

He paused for a moment. It had been a long time. His planet and species were still there, but different. Would he be welcome? Was it even possible for him to return? The Hierarchy would turn against him if they discovered his plan. It would be dangerous, for himself as well as subjects 7234 and 7235. Stewards didn't return, that was doctrine. Even if he could, would the subjects in universe 5582 help him?

Phstk emitted a long hiss and whistle and pulled up the required information to his display console.

He was determined to find out.

#

Author's Note: This might make more sense to you if you've read the second part of "Alternatives" (which is Phstk's full report for universe 5582) and perhaps the story "The River of Time." I posted the second chapter to this story simultaneously so you can see how C/7 indeed will figure prominently, although as you'll also see, there are a few twists ahead...

I've been wanting to include a non-humanoid as a central character in one of my stories, inspired by The Cheshire Cheese's inclusion of one in her story "The Bond". I started to in "Out of New Earth" with Ak, but then he didn't get any "lines." Oh well. Reviews are always welcome.


	2. Contact

Chapter 2 – Contact

Chakotay awoke just as Seven was doing the same at his side. They were not in their quarters on _Voyager_, however, but in a circular and dimly lit room. As in his dream or vision or whatever it was just a few days before, the outer wall was hard to distinguish, almost appearing out of focus, and the interior of the room held six other identical slabs forming spokes to a heptagonal center. Each of the other slabs this time, however, were empty.

"Chakotay?" Seven inquired as they both sat up simultaneously.

Chakotay glanced quickly about the room. "Yes, just as before," he said evenly, instantly awake and alert. He looked down at their clothing. They were both wearing their sleeping attire as when they went to bed a short time before. "A little different, and there's no one else here this time."

That was not quite true. There was a long hissing sound followed by some whistles and clicks, and out of the shadows from across the room drifted an alien creature. The creature did not walk, but rather floated in the air, a dozen tentacles extended from its lower body, although four of the tentacles were longer than the others and were also raised a bit. Four small stalks extruded out of its upper body as well. It appeared mostly brown, but periodically green stripes pulsed across its skin. The pulses varied directions as it approached.

Suddenly Seven discovered she held a tricorder in her hand. She looked at it curiously for a moment, not quite sure where it came from, but then opened it and directed a scan towards the alien. "A carbon based life form," she commented. "Hydrogen-methane breather. It shouldn't be able to exist here with us, nor survive in this gravitational field."

There was another hissing sound followed by a more intricate series of clicks and breaths.

"It's communicating with us," Seven said.

Chakotay and Seven swung their legs off the slab and stood up on either side. They both turned to face the creature, who now hovered in the center of the room. All four of the stalks on the top of the creature were facing them, but only two appeared to function for visual input. "We don't under…" Chakotay began, but then stopped. He was about to explain they didn't understand what the creature was saying, but then realized there was a picture in his mind of what was just said. He turned to Seven, who also had a perplexed expression on her face.

"Telepathy?" she offered. But inside her and Chakotay's head, an answer to their question formed_. No, not quite telepathy, but a sharing of our consciousness, _it seemed to say, although they could also still hear the breaths and hisses and clicks that obviously served as its language.

"Where are we?" Chakotay asked.

_A spatiotemporal confluence_, the creature responded. _My name is Phstk, and I've brought you here, just as I did with six others of your identity a short time ago. We are back in your construct._

"But why?"

_I am a Multiverse Steward, and it was my assignment to influence one of the others of your identity._

"Explain."

_There's no time to explain fully. Suffice to say, the timeline of a particular universe was proceeding to a point where the probability of a desired outcome was too low. I initiated the confluence to change the probability and affect a new outcome._

"You changed the timeline?"

_In a small way, the timelines were changed for all those of your identity who participated in the confluence and created this construct. For the primary target, the change was successful. For you and the others, the alterations were of no serious consequence. For example, the change in your universe is that you both will now conceive a child six months before you were expected to before the confluence._

"What gives you the right to influence the fate of others?" Chakotay retorted.

There was the slightest of pauses, and Phstk pulsed green. _I am a Multiverse Steward._

"Why have you brought us here Phstk?" Seven asked. "Will others of our identity be joining us?"

Phstk's colors muted back to brown. _I require your assistance. I wish to return to my universe, which is the one you also occupy._

"How would we be able to help you?"

_Your vessel passes by my planet._

At once, an image of Phstk's planet appeared in their minds. A gas giant in a distant orbit about a blue-white star. The atmosphere was streaked with browns and reds.

"I have seen this planet," Seven remarked. "In Astrometrics just the other day. The system in which it resides contains no M-class world. It was cataloged, but no course change was suggested."

_We are the only sentient race in our system. It is my home and I wish to return._

"But how?" Chakotay asked. "What are we to do when we get there?"

_Get yourselves to my planet, and we will discover a way. _Phstk's color suddenly pulsed red, and then he turned a deeper shade of brown. The tentacles about his body all retracted suddenly. _We are being detected. You must hide._

"Hide where?" Chakotay said, but immediately discovered he was no longer in the heptagonal room. Nor was he back in his quarters aboard _Voyager_. He was sitting in a cave. Light and shadow danced on the ceiling. He was on a comfortable rug, but then realized it was not a rug at all but the fur and hide of a large animal. A fire crackled near the entrance to the cave and was the only source of light. Outside he could see it was dark and bright stars shown in the sky. Seven was sitting close to the fire working on something in her hands. "Where are we?" he asked.

Seven turned to him and smiled curiously. He could now see in her hand was a tapestry of some sort that she was weaving. "We're in our cave," she replied. "Where else would we be?" Her hair was down on her shoulders, and she was not wearing a uniform nor her biosuit, but a thin cloth of woven fabric. She looked comfortable, and beautiful.

Before Chakotay could respond, the scene changed again, as if he was on a holodeck and a new program was just loaded to replace the first. He was still laying down, but this time on a blanket, sitting up on his elbows. The blanket was on the top of a rise in a field of grass and wildflowers. The sky was a deep blue and the sun was bright.

"Isn't this lovely?" someone beside him asked. Chakotay turned, and there was Seven, but not Seven. She seemed a little younger than his Seven, and lacked the Borg implant above her eye. In fact, she had no Borg implants whatsoever. Instead, the left side of her face was scarred, as if from burns that didn't heal correctly and were not regenerated. Despite the differences, however, he knew without a doubt it was indeed Seven.

"I… I," Chakotay stammered.

A look of concern crossed the younger Seven's face. She sat up straighter and touched Chakotay's shoulder with tenderness. "Are you well Chakotay?" she asked. Behind her some birds took flight.

"I'm not sure," Chakotay managed. It was obvious the two of them were together, but where was this place? It seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't decide where. Before he could ask a question of his companion, the scene shifted yet again. This time, however, accompanied with the shift, he felt as if he heard Phstk saying _a different direction this time_.

Chakotay and Seven were now standing side by side overlooking a field at Starfleet Academy. They were both in Starfleet uniforms and before them the cadet wing stood at attention. On either side were presumably the rest of the Academy's faculty. Chakotay had been to many of these parades before, both as a cadet and a faculty member. For a sickening second, Chakotay sensed they were all waiting on him to say something, but fortunately a Bolian admiral off to his right interrupted his thoughts calling out "at ease!"

The cadet wing relaxed and the faculty resumed their seats in the stands. Chakotay hesitated for a second, but then sat down next to Seven quickly.

It must have been a more formal parade for the faculty were all wearing their little used Starfleet hats. He leaned closer to Seven. "Do you have a tricorder?"

Seven gave Chakotay a look of irritation, and then answered, "Are you kidding?"

The Bolian admiral was now addressing the cadet wing. Chakotay idly wondered what the occasion might be. He was back on Earth, but given the moments he spent in each of the previous timelines, he didn't have a whole lot of time to enjoy the experience. He required information.

"Seven, something is happening to me. I'm Chakotay, but from a different universe, and I'm being switched from universe to universe by a being who calls himself a Multiverse Steward."

The ocular implant above Seven's eye raised ever so slightly. "The Borg have speculated on the existence of a multiverse," she commented. "You have no control over these shifts?"

Chakotay smiled inwardly. Implicit trust in one another. He had counted on it. "No," Chakotay answered. "I was hoping, however, that with a tricorder we could ascertain if there was a signature that would identify a shift has taken place and perhaps anticipate, or control, the next."

Seven seemed to consider this for a moment and then touched her comm badge. "Emergency beam out of Captain Chakotay and myself to our apartments."

Immediately the field at Starfleet Academy faded and the two of them appeared in a comfortable looking apartment near the Academy in San Francisco. Chakotay did not envy his counterpart for having to explain that to Starfleet Command or the Academy Board later.

Seven moved quickly over to a desk. "Do you know where my Chakotay is now during this?"

"No," Chakotay replied, following her to the desk. "I have shifted twice so far and have been there for less than a minute each."

Seven pulled out a tricorder and scanned Chakotay quickly. She studied the readout, adjusted some of the parameters and scanned again.

"Anything?" Chakotay asked.

"There are no tacyons and no chronoton radiation present," Seven commented, "and so time travel is not a factor. The subspace potential about your body, however, is off. It's different than it should be."

"That could be our signature," Chakotay said.

"Curious. Your cellular RNA appears to be asynchronous with normal matter. It is as if you don't belong here." She looked up at Chakotay. "I will monitor the levels."

Chakotay nodded and then looked about the apartment. Signs of Seven's and his, or at least his counterpart's in this universe, influence were apparent all around them. Since his relationship with Seven started, being stranded in the Delta Quadrant wasn't as significant an inconvenience as before. Whether on _Voyager_ or Earth, the important thing was being together. Apparently, they were together in this universe, and the two previous universes he briefly visited as well. "How was _Voyager_ finally able to return to Earth?" he suddenly asked.

Seven looked back up from her tricorder. "We constructed a quantum slipstream drive about two years after my arrival on _Voyager_. With it, we returned to Earth in mere hours."

"We tried the same," Chakotay remarked, "but found a phase variance in the drive's system. Eventually, we abandoned our attempt and scrapped the drive. It helped cut many years off our journey, but in my universe, we're still stuck in the Delta Quadrant."

Seven frowned. "There was no such phase variance in our slipstream drive," she said, and then her tricorder started beeping. She looked down and studied the display. "The subspace potential is now starting to decrease, do you feel any different?"

Chakotay was about to answer, but before he could the scene shifted again. Seven still stood before him, but they were obviously back aboard _Voyager_, or at least a ship very much like _Voyager_. Seven wore a blue crewman's uniform and was looking at him intently, as if expecting an answer to some question she apparently just asked.

"Seven," Chakotay began, "where are we right now?"

Seven's expression changed and suddenly appeared perplexed. "Did you just refer to me as 'Seven'?"

Chakotay moved uncomfortably. "Um, yes."

"In reference to my former Borg designation, Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimaxtrix Zero One?"

"Is that not your name?"

She shook her head and gave a short laugh. "No one has ever called me Seven. I have been referred to as Annika Hansen since the time you liberated the drones of Unimatrix Zero and brought me aboard." Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. "To answer your question, we are on _Voyager_, in your quarters, and you are the Captain."

Captain? Chakotay wondered how that had transpired, but couldn't waste time in finding out. He noticed a tricorder on the table at the other end of the room, which he now recognized as indeed his own quarters, although rearranged a great deal. He could see the mural he had since he was a child hung on the far wall. It was a replica, of course, the original lost with the _Val Jean_. "Annika," he said. "This might be hard to believe, although I am Chakotay, I am not the Chakotay from this universe. Please use the tricorder over there to measure the subspace potential of this room and of myself."

Annika appeared about to refuse, but then turned and stepped over to the table. She picked up the tricorder and made the appropriate measurements. The ocular implant above her eye raised slightly. "Indeed, the subspace potential about you is not what is should be." She studied the readings more carefully, and then looked up at Chakotay with interest. "The Borg have speculated on the existence of a multiverse. You called me Seven a moment ago which implies you know my counterpart in your own universe. What is our relationship in this other universe of yours?"

"We are married and still living aboard _Voyager_," Chakotay said.

Annika inhaled quickly, but then slowly nodded. "Indeed," she finally replied.

"You seem surprised, but the same circumstance appears to be true in at least a half dozen other universes I'm aware of."

"Remarkable," Annika said, but nodded again as if to acknowledge she wasn't all that surprised after all. "Why is it that you are shifting between universes?"

"I don't know," Chakotay said frustrated. "It involves a being who calls himself a Multiverse Steward. He requested our help, or I should say mine and your counterpart in my universe. My wife. He became concerned at being discovered, and so far I have shifted to three other timelines."

"And what of my counterpart from your universe?"

"I don't know."

"What happened to the Chakotay in the universes you've shifted to? To this Chakotay in my universe?"

"I don't know that either."

Annika frowned and appeared concerned.

"I'm sorry. I can only imagine they return as soon as I shift out. At my last shift, Seven measured an additional lowering of the subspace potential just before the next shift occurred. Perhaps we can…" Chakotay sighed. He wasn't quite sure what he was proposing to do.

Annika looked back down at the tricorder and made further adjustments. She then stepped forward and placed her hand on Chakotay's shoulder. "It will be fine, Chakotay. I will stay here with you. It occurs to me, however, that you should attempt nothing to impede the shifts between universes until such time as you return to your own."

Chakotay nodded. A good point, and sound advice. He expected nothing less from Seven, whatever she called herself, in any universe. "What is our relationship in this universe of yours?" Chakotay finally asked, purposefully using the same words Annika had before.

Annika paused for a moment. "We are exploring the parameters of our relationship," she finally offered.

"I can only imagine his feelings for you are genuine," Chakotay replied with a smile. "You should give him a chance."

_Further. You must go further._

Was that Phstk? "I think I'm leaving now," Chakotay said quickly, and then he shifted yet again and Annika was gone.

He was still in his quarters, but alone. The quarters were bigger, but perhaps he was still on _Voyager_. He held his breath and felt the vibration of the ship and nodded. He was definitely aboard a vessel at warp. He appeared to have just gotten out of bed and was still in his sleeping attire. There suddenly was the sound of running water from the other room. Someone was washing and getting ready.

"Who's there?" Chakotay called out, and moved towards the room's entrance.

Kathryn Janeway peered around the corner of the door with a bemused look. "Who do you think?"

#

Author's Note: Of the four additional C/7 AUs glimpsed in this chapter, only two are actually new. The other two are intended to be very much like scifiromance's "The Girl Next Door" AU and The Cheshire Cheese's "Sleepwalking" AU (and I recommend you start reading both if you haven't already done so), although a few years later for each and of course they might simply be AUs very close in the multiverse time stream to those particular ones… it's a big multiverse after all. As for the final AU… I suppose some of those do exist out there… Please do review. I have a good idea about the next chapter and the end, but haven't yet stitched them together. I expect this to be a similar length as my other "Alternatives" stories, but don't expect an update for a week or so.


	3. The Far Corners

Chapter 3 – The Far Corners

Chakotay wasn't quite sure what to say, fearful Kathryn would step out of the wash room altogether. "I think I'll pay a visit to Astrometrics this morning," he finally managed.

"Astrometrics?" Kathryn replied dubiously. "Do you mean Stellar Cartography? So is that what she's calling it now? Let's not get started on this again. I've left the final decision in your hands, but I just don't think she's the right one for the job, and that's all there is to it." Kathryn frowned and turned back into the wash room.

Chakotay glanced about the room and noticed his uniform draped over a chair, and moved towards it to quickly get dressed. Was Kathryn referring to Seven? Perhaps in this universe Astrometrics went by the name Stellar Cartography, for that was a common department to have in the larger ships of the fleet. There was always the option of telling Kathryn the truth, as he did with Seven in the past two universes he visited, but he decided to keep quiet this time. Seven's advice to ride these shifts out until he returned to his own universe seemed to be the best thing to do. Or to be more precise, Seven went by Annika Hansen in that last universe, so technically it had been Annika's advice. Chakotay shook his head. The whole multiverse with the various possibilities and complexities made his head hurt.

"She's unconventional, has made some, ah, interesting proposals at the staff meetings," Kathryn called out after the water stopped running. "Ensign Delaney is just not ready."

Ensign Dehlany? That could be Megan or Jenny. More likely Jenny by the sound of it. Needless to say, not quite the Astrometrics with Seven as the head he hoped for. In fact, he had absolutely no idea of the past history of this universe. Anything was possible. The amazing thing was that various universes could be so close in so many other respects. The same crew and ship lost in the Delta Quadrant, or returned to Earth. For the timelines to be that close now, all those universes must have been essentially identical for much of the billions of years they previously existed. The birth and death of stars and galaxies, but also the lineage of all the sentient and non-sentient beings on the planets circling all those stars in all those galaxies. The same parents, and grandparents, and countless generations before from the beginning of life up to a critical moment where one universe diverges from the other. Seven had remarked that the Borg concluded the multiverse did not constitute an infinite number of universes, but Chakotay felt there must be essentially that number to accommodate all the possibilities.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Chakotay. Could the Stewards be manipulating the universes to keep them more or less the same? What was the desired outcome Phstk referred to anyway regarding one of the universes in the initial meeting? What did the Stewards really want? And what of Seven in this universe? It was possible Seven was still assimilated by the Borg and not even on _Voyager_. The thought made him feel sick.

Just keep quiet and wait for the shift.

Kathryn stepped out of the room. Fortunately she was fully dressed. She still wore a frown, however, and raised her hand. "I know what you're going to say, Chakotay, so don't even say it. I'm sure she'll grow into the position. I know you have every confidence in her abilities. I haven't questioned her scientific abilities, just her leadership abilities to head the section." After a moment, she shook her head and sighed, obviously exasperated. "Fine, fine. Go to Stellar Cartography, or Astrometrics if that's what they're calling it now. I'm heading up to the bridge to relieve Tuvok." Kathryn stepped forward and gave Chakotay a kiss on the check. She was smiling now. "See you at lunch?"

Chakotay nodded and forced a smile. Kathryn seemed satisfied, and then turned and exited the quarters. Chakotay breathed a sigh of relief and looked up towards the ceiling. "Any time you're ready Phstk," he remarked dryly.

There was no answer. Chakotay was fully dressed now, and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Computer, is there a Seven of Nine or Annika Hansen aboard?"

"_There are no individuals by those names aboard_."

Now Chakotay frowned. What had happened in this universe? Did _Voyager_ ever encounter the Borg and establish an alliance to combat Species 8472? If they did, was Seven one of the drones? He could of course ask the computer, but he hesitated. He remembered the story of one of his counterparts during the… what did Phstk call it, the spatiotemporal confluence. That Chakotay had opened the cargo bay doors with the intention of ejecting all the Borg drones into space. Well, many of his counterparts, including himself, had done the same. In that particular universe, however, Seven did not survive. Was it the same in this universe? The thought was too terrible to contemplate.

He looked about the room and shook his head. And now, here he was with Kathryn? It was pointless to speculate. This universe was obviously far removed from his own. Ayala once commented to Chakotay that he thought Kathryn and Chakotay balanced each other's strengths and weaknesses perfectly. Although Chakotay had to admit, there was some romantic tension and teasing early on in their relationship, it was clear after a time that they were perfectly matched as a Captain and First Officer team, but not necessarily as a couple. He was too unconventional while she could be too authoritarian. In his universe, at least, Kathryn was his Captain and one of his best friends, but that was all. What had happened to change that in this universe, he couldn't guess.

Chakotay was still sitting on the edge of the bed when again he shifted, and he was thankful for it. He was now definitely no longer aboard _Voyager_ or any other vessel for that matter. He was alone in a dimly lit room. Although he was still sitting on the edge of a bed, the room appeared to serve other purposes as well. A galley in one corner. A desk with some books and PADDs in another. He recognized enough of the items in the room to conjecture that he lived here, and judging by some of the clothing he could see, he lived here with someone else as well. A fire crackled in a hearth along one wall, and there was a window on the opposite wall by a door. Outside he could see it was dawn or dusk. The silhouettes of some tall evergreens framed a darkened sky.

Suddenly the door swung open and a woman entered. She carried a phase rifle of some sort, or perhaps just a projectile weapon, and she was dressed in a thick coat and a hood covered her head. A cool breeze swept into the room, and she quickly shut the door behind her and bolted it. She placed the rifle next to the door in a spot obviously made for it, and turned to Chakotay. "It's getting cold out there," she commented, and pulled off her hood to reveal shoulder length black hair. Her eyes were black as well, and her face was flushed from the cold. She wore a smile and Chakotay recognized her at once.

"Marina," he said involuntarily. Marina Jor was one of his Maquis crew from the _Val Jean_.

Chakotay had his back to the fire, and so his face was in shadow. Marina narrowed her eyes suddenly and stepped back to the door. She reached tentatively towards the rifle. "Chakotay?" she asked.

"It's me," Chakotay replied.

She faltered for a moment and then moved forward again away from the rifle, as if to get a better look at Chakotay. She seemed confused and unsure what to do. "Something's different," she finally said. "What's going on? I sense you are not yourself."

Chakotay remembered Marina was half-Betazoid. The daughter of the Betazed ambassador, no less. When she had joined his cell in the Maquis, there were some who wanted to exploit that fact. Marina wanted none of it, and Chakotay had respected her wishes. Many on Voyager, even now, didn't know of her connection to the Betazed ambassador. Obviously she was picking up on his emotions now. Confusion, anxiety… his desire to return to Seven and his universe. He wasn't about to bluff his way through this one, not with her telepathic abilities, and so the truth was the only option. "You are exactly right. I am Chakotay, but not from this universe." He then laughed. How many more times would he have to explain this? "I appeared here just moments ago. I don't know where your Chakotay is, and can only assume he will return when I shift back out of this universe. I have no control over these shifts. An alien who calls himself a Multiverse Steward is doing this to me."

Marina stared at Chakotay for a long moment. "You're telling the truth," she finally said, and then laughed herself. "Quite a story. Isn't that a kick?"

"It's been disorienting, to say the least," Chakotay replied. "This is my sixth jump in the space of perhaps twenty minutes. I don't know anything about this universe. In my universe, we are still on _Voyager_ in the Delta Quadrant."

"_Voyager_? I don't know anything about _that_. Is it a different Maquis vessel? Did the Maquis survive? We never made it to the Delta Quadrant."

"Oh," Chakotay remarked. This timeline was much different than his own. Apparently the _Val Jean_ didn't get brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. "In my universe, we joined _Voyager_ after the _Val Jean_ was destroyed in the Delta Quadrant." He gestured about the room and added, "Although we're not together." As he looked more closely, it was apparent that Marina and his counterpart shared a more intimate relationship.

Marina frowned, but then shrugged her shoulders. She took off her coat and hung it up beside the rifle and another larger coat that must have been Chakotay's. "I suppose that's not surprising. I imagine we both have quite a few stories we could tell on what has led us here. We're an odd couple, but it works. After Seska betrayed us, we sort of stuck together. She was a Cardassian spy by the way."

Chakotay nodded, to acknowledge he knew the same from his own universe. Marina walked over to the fire and picked up a kettle that was placed near it. She poured two drinks and offered one to Chakotay. It was tea. Chakotay recognized the flavor, but couldn't remember from what planet.

"Anyway, we were the only survivors from the _Val Jean_," Marina continued. "And then the Cardassians and the Dominion and the fall of the Federation. It's been a rough time."

"I've heard of the Dominion War. The Federation lost?"

"Oh, there's still fighting and resistance, but…" Her expression was such that she didn't expect the Federation to rally anytime soon. "Anyway, we're hiding out here while we fix our shuttle, although we're not in any hurry. The Maquis are gone. We might be the only ones left." Marina sighed, and then added as an afterthought, "we're on the southern continent of Bajor."

Bajor. That was where he recognized the flavor. Marina sat down on the bed next to Chakotay and took a sip of her tea. Suddenly, her expression changed, and she looked about the room, as if searching for something. Finally she settled back on Chakotay. "We're not alone," she said. "There's something else here. I can sense another consciousness. I think it's trying to say something."

"I wonder if it could be Phstk," Chakotay mused. "The Multiverse Steward."

"_Yes, I am here_," Marina said slowly, and then shook her head. "That was unpleasant," she commented in her own voice. "The bugger took control of my voice for a moment. Who is this Multiverse Steward?"

"He's an alien from a gas giant world close to our position in the Delta Quadrant," Chakotay said.

Marina started to say something in reply but forced herself to stop. "That will be enough of that, thank you," she said, and then turned back to Chakotay. "He tried it again."

"You can stop him?"

"Of course. His consciousness appears to be right here, surrounding you." She paused as if listening to something inside her head. "OK, I don't understand a word of that. Something to do with a higher dimensional Hilbert space outside but just touching our three spatial dimensions. A sub-space higher-dimensional manifold?"

"Perhaps we can get some answers. Ask him what's going on. Where's the Chakotay from this universe, and when do I get to go back to my universe?"

"Slow down," Marina said out loud, although Chakotay realized after a second it was not to himself but rather to Phstk who was communicating to her. She laughed for a brief moment. "That's a kick for you."

"What is it?"

Marina thought for a moment, obviously sorting through what she just discovered. "It's a bit hard to explain," she finally started. "It seems we're both in a parallel transmuted stream branched off from my universe. I think that's what he called it. A parallel universe to my own. I still exist in both this and the main stream. Whereas my Chakotay is with me in the main stream, Phstk apparently substituted you into this parallel stream to hide."

"Parallel universes? Were all my visits to previous universes in these parallel transmuted streams?"

Marina nodded. "Apparently so," she said, but seemed a little more distracted. "He's ensuring you will retain your memory, but I won't remember any of this." she added with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"This parallel stream will end shortly, and if I remember any of it at all, it will be only as a dream or a kind of déjà vu." She faced Chakotay with a haunted look in her dark eyes. "Strange, to have parts of our lives where we know nothing about it. I wonder how these parallel transmuted streams start?" She paused, as if she was listening to something again. "Oh, they occur naturally all the time. Phstk is just using them to hide you in."

"I wonder how much longer."

"Not long," Marina replied. She took another sip of tea and then looked down into the cup with a curious expression. "I wonder if I'm drinking tea with my Chakotay in the main stream right now."

"You'll soon find out," Chakotay said. "Thank you Marina."

But instead of Marina, Seven was looking back at him intently. Chakotay didn't notice the shift this time it happened so fast. They were together sitting up on their bed in their quarters back on _Voyager_.

"You are my husband," Seven said quickly, with a slight question in her voice.

"Yes."

"Describe our wedding," she demanded. There was a sense of urgency.

"I asked you to marry me after a movie night with Tom and B'Elanna here on _Voyager_. You took a regeneration cycle to consider my proposal, and then said yes in the morning. We were married the same day by Captain Janeway in the mess hall. Ayala was my best man, and Naomi was your maid of honor."

"Enough," Seven said and wrapped her arms about Chakotay. "Hold me. Hold me tight."

Chakotay was already enclosing his arms about her. She was trembling. They held onto each other for a long time, both unwilling to let go.

"There are universes where the Borg have taken over much of the Galaxy," Seven whispered after a time. "It was quite unpleasant, as Phstk hid me in these."

"I was hidden in various universes myself, but fortunately your counterpart was with me in many of them."

"For me as well, at the start…"

The two were silent for a while longer, each just content at feeling the physical contact with the other. "If we help this Phstk or not," Seven finally said, "we must also seek to disrupt the control and influence of these Multiverse Stewards in our universe. They can't be allowed to manipulate us anymore."

Chakotay could tell Seven was still shaken by the experience.

"I have some ideas on that," Chakotay replied.

_#_

A Steward waved her hand over the console and the screen went dark. Her species was one of the first humanoids evolved within the particular galaxy in the particular universe in question. Of course, her form and that of the console and screen were simply the thought of those things as she accessed the information within the manifold. It made it easier when conversing with each other, however, to appear in some form.

"It's worse than we feared," another Steward remarked. It was of a greater rank in the Hierarchy and seemed angry, and it allowed that anger to show in both its voice and form. It had been a long time since it felt that particular emotion. "How could we have let it come to this?"

"There were no prior indications," the first Steward replied. "No projections studied. No divergent values identified. No future contingencies filed. I've looked over all the reports up to the latest spatiotemporal confluence. Time displacements, as you know your Excellency, are not possible in the manifold, and those that do occur within the universes were not, are not, and will not be a factor. I don't know how he did it, but there's nothing. If we hadn't been given that tip, we would still be ignorant."

"We are Stewards! This is unthinkable!"

"We could manipulate the Q to intervene," the first Steward suggested. "They've proved useful in the past in resetting a portion of a timeline, particularly in this galaxy within the universes accessible by the continuum."

The second Steward seemed to contemplate this for a moment. Indeed, the Q were easily swayed. But then shook an appendage that indicated negative. "It would take too long to plan. We might be left with a bigger mess than we already have if we are too hasty. We must stay in control of the situation."

"We could terminate the Steward. We could terminate the subjects. We could terminate all of them."

"The repercussions are incalculable," the second Steward bellowed, but then checked his burst of emotion. Of course that was not true. Their business was to calculate those repercussions in all the various parts of the multiverse this event affected. Interventions at any scale were so rare, particularly compared to the number of total universes and the individual consciousnesses within those universes. The important thing was to ensure the overall flow of the universes within the multiverse progressed as planned. The End State, as constructed and envisioned by the Steward Hierarchy in the Beginning, was the ultimate goal here, not the existence of a single Steward or a single universe. No, keep your vision fixed on the bigger picture. Stay in control. All else will fall into place. The second Steward relaxed. "Do nothing, for now," it said in a calmer voice. "Make your projections and provide me options."

#

Author's Note: The C/J universe was a bit of an indulgence (I like Marina Jor as a character – see below for her appearance in canon and in various fan fiction that I know of) and she might become an important factor later in this story. Still working on that. Reviews would be most welcome.

Marina Jor (half Betazoid/half-human female Maquis)

**Repression** – only appearance in canon. She was Maquis and was only given a last name.

"My Crew" (by The Cheshire Cheese) – given a first name (Marina) and her species is clarified (half-Betazoid/half-human)

"Les Exiles" – Seven's best friend aboard the _Val Jean_ in this AU. Revealed that her mother is a Betazed ambassador (presumably after Lwaxana Troi if the ambassador to the Federation).

"Parallels" (by The Cheshire Cheese) – cameo – in the mess hall and perhaps eavesdropping on Chakotay and Seven's conversation

"Unite" (Chapter 1) – Serves as Seven's de-facto maid of honor at her wedding in the "Les Exiles" AU. Being trained by Counselor Deanna Troi for something that wasn't revealed (although possibly involves Chakotay and Seven's new ship, the _Sankta Lucia_).

"Sleepwalking" (by The Cheshire Cheese) – one of the crewmembers assigned to the shuttlecraft to help the children when _Voyager_ goes up against the Borg in this AU (Chapter 6). Possibly more later…

"Unite" (Chapter 2) – cameo – one of the few attending Chakotay and Seven's wedding in the mess hall in the "The Folly of the Stewards" AU.

"Unite" (Chapter 4) – A friend of Annika's from Receiving at the Energy Distribution Plant on Quarra in the "Recharting the Course" AU.


	4. Revelations

Chapter 4 – Revelations

"OK, now tell me what I said again."

Marina Jor's black hair was a little disheveled for she had been awoken in the middle of the night, or at least too early in the morning. It was now just after breakfast and the three were in Seven and Chakotay's quarters. Marina still held her mug of tea, although there was only a sip or two more left, while Seven and Chakotay's mugs were already empty and on the small table in front and between them.

"A sub-space higher-dimensional manifold," Chakotay replied. "Phstk said this manifold was a Hilbert space outside but just touching our three spatial dimensions." He turned to Seven and shook his head. "I'm still not exactly clear what that means."

Seven frowned, as if trying to comprehend it herself. "This is all notional of course," she finally said. "The existence of multiple universes contained within a greater multiverse is not a subject covered in the Federation scientific literature."

"A bit of an oversight, I guess," Chakotay laughed.

Seven nodded. "It appears these universes, ours included, are contained within a higher-dimensional space." Seven noticed that both Chakotay and Marina weren't quite grasping the implications of this statement. That, or it was simply too early in the morning. "Let me see if I can think of an analogy to illustrate what that means." She closed her eyes for a short time, and then nodded again.

"Okay, so imagine our universe had only two spatial dimensions instead of three. This two-dimensional universe can be contained within a higher dimensional space, namely, a three-dimensional space. It could be flat and infinite, or it could be curved, say on the surface of a sphere, and finite. Regardless of its shape, the two-dimensional universe is embedded within the higher three dimensional space.

"Inside our universe, the only directions we know about are forward and backwards and left and right. Confined to our two-dimensional universe, we have no concept of up and down, of a third spatial dimension. We wouldn't know where to point, because that dimension does not exist in our universe."

Seven looked back and forth from Chakotay to Marina, and both seemed to be with her so far.

"Now imagine there are beings like the Stewards who resided in the higher three-dimensional space. They could locate themselves completely outside our universe in this third spatial dimension. They could observe what was going on within our universe without actually being inside it. If desired, one of these Stewards could enter our universe by penetrating the surface of the sphere on which our two-dimensional universe resides. We would see something appear as if from nowhere, and disappear again as the Steward pulled back out. To us, the Steward would appear as a cross section of whatever part of it was within our universe, while the rest of the Steward's body remained outside our universe in that third dimension completely unknown to us."

Again she looked at the two of them, and they nodded understanding. Marina took a sip of her tea and then made a face and placed the mug on the table.

"Mathematically," Seven continued, "I believe the multiverse we're speaking of is a higher dimensioned example of what I just described. Instead of a two-dimensional universe embedded in a three-dimensional space, we have a three-dimensional universe such as ours embedded in the same way within an eleven dimensional Hilbert space."

"Why eleven dimensions?" Chakotay asked.

"Eleven dimensions is just the minimum number required to embed a three-dimensional space," Seven corrected.

"And so these Stewards exist in this higher dimensional space." Marina said. "A space with eleven spatial dimensions."

"As I said, there is nothing limiting the manifold to only eleven dimensions."

"Or the multiverse itself could be wrapped up and embedded into an even higher spatial dimensioned… megaverse," Marina suggested.

"That is mathematically possible, but purely conjecture," Seven replied. "There is no evidence to support that hypothesis. There is no solid evidence to support a higher dimensional space for the multiverse except Chakotay and my experiences."

"Where are these other dimensions?" Chakotay asked.

"Just as in our analogy," Seven replied. "They are here, all around us. We just don't know where to point. Our minds don't think in these higher dimensions and the physics of our universe doesn't access these higher dimensions. We're restricted to just three spatial dimensions. The Stewards appear not to have that restriction. In our analogy, it is as if they can walk about inside a three-dimensional room and can view a variety of two-dimensional universes, all of which are restricted to the surfaces of spherical balloons floating within that room."

Marina laughed. "Now there's an image for you," she remarked. "Almost like gods."

"But not just observe," Chakotay added thoughtfully. "They can somehow influence the events in the various universes. Phstk certainly had control over our consciousness and where he sent us. From one universe to the next, essentially instantaneously."

Seven frowned. "The analogy is breaking down," she said. "It's far more complicated, apparently. Marina's counterpart mentioned something about a parallel transmuted stream. The parallel universes that exist only momentarily in which Phstk hid us. The dimension of time. Apparently virtual timelines within universes are spawned and then reabsorbed. The full complexity of the multiverse could very well be staggering and beyond our comprehension. And somehow, the Stewards have control over it all."

"But not complete control," Marina reminded them. Chakotay and Seven turned to face Marina and her dark eyes sparkled. "That's why you brought me here and told me all this. Somehow my counterpart in that other universe was able to block this Phstk when he tried to take control of her speech."

"Exactly," Chakotay confirmed and nodded vigorously. "I want to know how your counterpart did that, so we can perhaps replicate it and not be at the mercy of these Stewards."

Marina shook her head. "When I was a kid on Betazed, you had to constantly be on your guard and keep others out of your mind. It was something you learned at an early age. We didn't think about how. We just did it. I haven't had much need to do it in a long time. I'm not sure I'd know how to put it into words, let alone provide a physiological explanation."

"Perhaps we could have the Doctor monitor you and discover what changes are induced in your brain," Seven suggested. "It could be even related to these higher spatial dimensions."

"I suppose," Marina said. She didn't sound convinced. "We'd have to have another telepath try and read my mind or something similar to get that to work."

"What about Tuvok?" Chakotay interjected.

"Perhaps. Vulcans are a little different than most telepaths. Often times they require physical contact for their telepathy to work."

"I'm worried about getting more people involved," Seven broke in. "We've already told the Captain and she's ordered _Voyager_'s course altered to Phstk's planet. We'll be there within the hour." She glanced out their quarters windows, and indeed they were still at warp. There was something troubling her. "The Doctor, Tuvok. I fear the more who know, the more likely our plans will be discovered by these Stewards."

"That might be impossible to avoid," Chakotay suggested. "Imagine that room of yours and a Steward examining the surface of a sphere very carefully. They might be monitoring us right now without our knowledge. Unless we figure out how to detect them, how can we know?"

Seven consulted the tricorder that was sitting on a small table between them. "I'm not registering any decrease in the subspace potential," she said. "Although, perhaps that's a signature of when Phstk transferred us to other universes and not of the Stewards themselves."

"What are you suggesting we do?" Chakotay inquired.

Seven regarded the tricorder more carefully and made a few adjustments to the settings. She then held it out in front of her. "Perhaps we should first investigate the lowering of the subspace potential my counterparts measured in the two universes you visited. It agrees with the scans I was able to make from the Borg cube in one of my own… visits to another universe."

Seven hadn't shared the details of her visits to the other universes during the time Phstk was hiding them about the multiverse. All Chakotay knew was that in at least one, she was still a Borg drone and the Borg had taken control of the entire galaxy. It had not been a pleasant experience for her. Suddenly they were interrupted by the computer.

"_Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine, please report to Holodeck Two_."

Chakotay and Seven exchanged a glance. "Computer, who is making this request?" Chakotay queried. The computer simply repeated the message.

"_Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine, please report to Holodeck Two_."

"Computer, who is currently on Holodeck Two?" Seven asked.

"_There is no one on Holodeck Two_."

"Is there a program running?"

"_Affirmative_."

"What is the program?"

"_Holodeck file Seven of Nine alpha three, personal quarters_."

Seven raised her ocular implant. "I thought I had deleted that." She turned to Chakotay and Marina and added, "A few years ago, I was conducting simulations to explore different aspects of my humanity. Social activities, friendships with the crew."

"Oh…" Chakotay said with a smile and nodded in understanding.

"Yes, I've told you about it before," Seven confirmed with an annoyed look. "Why would the program be running now?"

Chakotay stood. "Let's go take a look."

The corridors were empty as they made their way from Chakotay and Seven's quarters to Holodeck Two. As the three of them entered the holodeck, it was indeed as if they were entering someone else's quarters. The lights were dimmed and a table was set for a dinner for two. The setting was intimate with flowers in a vase and candles.

"Quarters I fashioned for myself," Seven commented. She looked around and added, "I believe I was preparing to host a dinner date." She quickly looked down and was thankful the computer hadn't replaced her outfit with the red dress she had programmed for this particular social event. The program was obviously already running, and so her Chakotay simulation wouldn't be joining them either.

Chakotay immediately noticed a dream-catcher above the bed and turned to Seven and smiled. "A gift from me, I hope," he said with a wink.

Seven smiled back and nodded.

"There's someone else here," Marina suddenly said. She stepped about the room and closed her eyes. "I can't localize it, but I can definitely sense another presence."

Seven activated her tricorder and scanned the room. "There is a slight lowering of the subspace potential."

As she spoke, a holographic image materialized in the far corner. Marina stepped back out of reflex, but Seven and Chakotay immediately recognized the figure. A holographic projection of Phstk hovered as he did when they saw him before. Slowly he drifted down and settled onto a small table.

"_I am hiding in Voyager's holomatrix_," the computer voice said. As the computer spoke, the hologram of Phstk 'spoke' as well in his language of hisses, clicks and whistles. "_The Stewards suspect something, but are still making plans. They would not think of me placing myself fully in this universe, at least not right away. If we hurry, we will complete our task before they know and can act_."

"What exactly could the Stewards do to us?" Chakotay asked.

"_Anything they wanted_," Phstk replied. The bluntness of the computer voice made the statement all the more chilling. "_But they will hesitate. I have already run the probabilities. My absence and your knowledge of the Stewards deviate this universe and timeline minutely. After the fact, they will likely do nothing and let this universe unfold and merge as projected, for its destiny is already sealed_."

"Merge?" Seven asked surprised. "Explain."

"_I cannot give you an explanation of things you cannot understand_."

"Humor us," Chakotay said, and moved over to a chair near the table where Phstk had settled. Seven and Marina did the same.

Phstk's body pulsed green, although this was not translated by the computer. Some of his tentacles twitched. "_This universe and others are tied together at a fundamental level," _Phstk began_. "There are events that have taken place, are taking place, and will take place in this universe that will dictate events that have taken place, are taking place, and will take place in the others. Your species and others believe that time travel is possible, but of course it is not, it is simply the linking together of universes within the multiverse through one of the orthogonal dimensions of time."_

"There have been several instances I'm aware of involving time travel," Seven objected.

"_Nothing more than complex interactions between, within, and throughout the universes in the multiverse," _Phstk countered._ "Your Relativity experiences are a prime example of this. In a minor way, the Federation timeships of the past, present and future have access to some of the higher dimensional space of the manifold, just as Q does, and so have a small measure of control."_

"What of the merging of universes?"

_"__There are certain instances that must have a probability of unity, for some things that will take place in this universe influence things that have already taken place in another due to the apparent travel through a dimension of time. This universe is destined to merge with another of these to become one. The probability of this event as calculated by the Stewards is unity. There is nothing that can stop it."_

"What happens when the universes merge?" Marina asked. She didn't much like the sound of that.

"_The universes merge_," Phstk stated without irony.

"I mean, what happens to everything within the universes?" Marina clarified.

"_They merge. They become one and the same thing. They combine_. _It happens all the time. As you are aware, parallel transmuted streams diverge and merge seamlessly_. _Locally or for a universe as a whole_."

"Universes as a whole," Chakotay repeated. "What of the different timelines. Which becomes the true history of the merged universes?"

_"__Both," _Phstk replied_. "At the End of Times, all universes within the multiverse will merge and there will be a single universe and consciousness. All histories will be true. It is the End State the Stewards are helping to usher in. Everything the Stewards have done, are doing, and will do seek to accomplish this goal._"

Something Marina had thought earlier came back to her. "If the Stewards are in this higher dimensional manifold that oversee many universes in a multiverse," she started. "Is there an even higher dimensional manifold above that where our multiverse might be just one of many multiverses?"

The holographic image of Phstk flashed bright red and then quickly changed to a very deep shade of brown. Obviously the question struck a chord. "_It is unknown_," he finally answered, and although still the voice of the computer, you could imagine he was whispering. "_It is unknowable_. _In the Early Days, the Steward Hierarchy searched for these dimensions, but found nothing. The Hierarchy now believes they do not exist_."

"I don't know," Marina said. "There's a lot I would have thought didn't exist before this morning. I'm a bit overwhelmed."

Phstk's coloring brightened slightly. The eyes at the end of two of his stalks regarded the three humans in turn. "_I don't have proof. But I do believe in the higher dimensions_." It was as if he was confessing.

"Phstk, can we prevent the Stewards from influencing and controlling us?" Seven asked.

"_I don't think so_," Phstk answered. "_But you won't have to. When I am gone from the manifold completely and they see the probabilities unaffected, they will forget about you_. _And hopefully, they will forget about me_."

"What are we to do when we arrive at your planet?" Chakotay asked. "I expect we're quite close now. Our Captain knows about you and is willing to help."

"_Captain Kathryn Janeway_," Phstk mused. "_She is at the center of the nexus event that links these universes and merges them. Not for many years in this universe, but it has already happened in the others._"

Before they could ask him further about this enigmatic statement, Captain Janeway came on over the comm.

"_Janeway to Chakotay_."

"Go ahead Captain."

"_We're in sensor range of the planet. Harry has conducted scans throughout the atmosphere. We've detected no life_."

The four in the holodeck exchanged concerned looks.

"Perhaps our scans can't detect Phstk's species," Chakotay suggested, forgetting about trying to keep knowledge of Phstk a secret from the rest of the crew.

"_Sir_," Harry Kim came on. "_The Captain instructed me to search for carbon-based hydrogen-methane breathers. There's no mistake. I'll keep monitoring as we enter orbit, but there are no life forms, sentient or otherwise, that match that description in the atmosphere of this planet."_

Seven, Marina, and Chakotay turned again to face the hologram of Phstk. The alien's tentacles hung limp and in the dim light his skin color was nearly black.

#

Author's Note: Thank you scifiromance, Alaster Boneman, and The Cheshire Cheese for your reviews.


	5. The Unaltered Timeline

Chapter 5 – The Unaltered Timeline

_Voyager_ entered a standard orbit about Phstk's home world and Janeway directed Seven, Marina, Phstk, and Chakotay to join her in Astrometrics. Although the details of Phstk's reason for being aboard _Voyager_ were kept from the rest of the crew, his existence was not. Seven retrieved the Doctor's mobile emitter, per the Captain's orders, and Phstk seemed to understand exactly what the device was and how it functioned. He transferred his consciousness from the ship's holomatrix to the mobile emitter with no difficulty and in fact reprogrammed it to provide the needed translation of his speech. The Doctor was not too pleased at this development, but Janeway overruled him. Now all of them stood facing the disk of the gas giant projected on the large display in Astrometrics.

Phstk had spoken very little since the discovery that his world was uninhabited, and in fact probably uninhabitable. Shortly after the revelation in the holodeck, he had simply said, "_Too late, the Hierarchy has gotten here first_. _The probability is unity_," but since that time had been quiet. He didn't appear depressed, as he first did, but more resigned to his fate. Now that they were in Astrometrics, however, he was becoming more animated and his color returned. He was obviously interested, as everyone else was, to discover what had happened to his planet.

"There are several structures I can locate in the planet's atmosphere," Seven said and adjusted some of the sensors. The image of the multicolored cloud bands expanded to focus in on a large object in the planet's northern hemisphere. The structure appeared small against the clouds, but was in fact dozens of kilometers long. The viewing angle from _Voyager_ provided a perspective of a portion of the bottom, and that side was smooth and rounded. In contrast, the upper half held a variety of structures from large blocks to tall pinnacles stretching high into the upper atmosphere. It appeared, for all intents and purposes, an extremely large boat.

Phstk started clicking and hissing, and a moment later the mobile emitter translated what everyone else had already guessed. "_A city floating at the transition layer. Still operating, to have kept its position and not fallen into the depths_."

"No life signs detected," Seven commented, although that was true everywhere on the planet. "There is an energy signature deep within the city structure. Apparently the mechanism that enables the city to maintain its position is still functioning."

"_The cities were located near long-term updrafts in the atmosphere. Creatures and methane would rise from the depths on thermal fountains to feed us. On calm days, we would venture out into the atmosphere and fly."_

"Did you live in a city such as this?" Janeway asked. She was intrigued by Phstk's description and also appeared deeply moved by his situation. A lost world.

"_Yes_," Phstk replied. "_I remember it as if it were yesterday_._ The sunrises and sunsets from the tops of the highest pinnacles were remarkable. A kaleidoscope of color, the sun's spectrum filtered through the lower atmosphere_. _Deep reds, crimsons and vermilions, reflected and refracted off the clouds_." He then drifted next to Seven and reached out one of his tentacles towards the console. Seven stepped to the side and gestured to the console to indicate he was more than welcome to proceed. At first, the tips of his four primary tentacles tapped tentatively at the controls, but soon enough, he was entering in commands with great speed. Some figures flashed up on the display and these were scrolled through rapidly. Images of star fields and the system's sun also sped by, before settling back to the original image of the floating city. Suddenly he stopped and drifted back a few feet to again hover near Seven.

"_It's been operating in a safety mode for more than a thousand years_," Phstk said. It was hard to be sure, given the translated computer voice, but Chakotay sensed Phstk was perplexed by this fact. "_The city was purposely set in this mode and has been abandoned for a long time_."

"Perhaps something compelled them to leave the system," Janeway suggested. "By ensuring their cities survived their absence, perhaps your people are also planning to return one day?"

"Over a thousand years ago," Marina repeated. "It's a long time to be gone."

"So the Stewards might not have had anything to do with this," Chakotay concluded. Phstk's statement that they had earlier had troubled Chakotay.

Alternating red and brown stripes pulsed across Phstk's body. "_Not necessarily_," he finally said. "_If the Stewards anticipated my defection, they could have manipulated the timeline long ago to produce this outcome. Effectively preventing me from returning to my world in this universe and forcing me back into the Hierarchy. It is the most likely scenario, but I would require access to the Steward records in the manifold to confirm my hypothesis_."

"They would allow the destruction of a whole world just for that?" Marina asked incredulous.

"_Of course_," Phstk replied bluntly, "_If it suited the desired end state_." There was no judgment in his reply, just a statement of fact.

"The ends justify the means," Marina commented, although it was clear in her voice she thought the idea despicable.

"How long have you been a Steward?" Chakotay asked.

Phstk turned to face the display, and at first it didn't appear as if he was going to answer. "_A long time_," he finally answered. "_Far longer than this City has been sitting idle_."

"When did you last check in on your home world?" Janeway asked. It seemed incredible to her that he would plan an escape from the Steward's manifold without first checking to make sure where he planned to escape was still a viable option.

Again Phstk didn't answer the question right away. Instead, he went back to the Astrometrics controls and started working. The view suddenly shifted dramatically and flew across the planet's surface. When it finally settled down, another city was centered. This one, however, seemed worse off. It was tilted by a large amount and hung lower in the atmosphere. Some of the spires were bent, distorted by the planet's gravity. The view changed like this several more times is quick succession. Often, nothing was shown except the atmosphere. Perhaps the city Phstk was looking for in those cases were already gone, sunk into the crushing depths of the lower atmosphere. The others looked on in awed silence as the wonders of the planet below passed before their eyes. After a few minutes of this, Phstk again stopped and turned to face the group.

"_As we suspected, it appears the same across the planet_," he commented. "_In fact, I have not checked on my home world in this particular universe since soon after I was recruited as a Steward. In other universes I am aware of, however, my species is still thriving. They have even expanded their territory to nearby systems. This planet, however, is no longer capable of sustaining life and has been abandoned. Something has happened to the atmosphere. I made a grave error_."

"I'm sorry Phstk," Janeway said. Again her sympathy for his plight showed. For a moment she appeared as if she was going to step over and pat the holographic projection of the alien on what would be his shoulder, but in the end she didn't.

"_It is still possible, in fact probable, the Stewards anticipated my defection soon after I was recruited and helped this to happen. It may be it is only in this universe my species abandoned their home world. I should have run the probabilities of this and checked. I only have myself to blame_."

Seven was back at the Astrometrics console and had centered the display on a quite different structure located on one of the planet's moons. "I'm detecting extensive structures located on a large L-class moon in a distant orbit. Oxygen-Nitrogen atmosphere. It appears Phstk's race left many facilities we can access on the moons of their planet. The cities in the planet's atmosphere may be out of reach to us, but if we investigate these ruins located on the moons further, perhaps we can determine what happened. If Phstk's species did abandon this system in an orderly manner, we might be able to discover where they went and meet up with them there."

A smile returned to Janeway's face. "That's an excellent idea. Survey the moons and let me know what you find. The four of you should prepare for an away mission to investigate." Janeway nodded satisfactorily and started for the door, but then turned back. "For the time being, let's still keep this amongst ourselves."

Chakotay, Seven and Marina all nodded in agreement.

Phstk had flashed a burst of reds and greens at the mention of an away mission. Chakotay turned to see what he might say, but the alien remained quiet, the display subduing to a dark brown when he discovered Chakotay looking in his direction. Janeway and the others didn't notice Phstk's reaction, and Janeway finally left Astrometrics. "I'll be on the bridge," she said over her shoulder and the doors closed behind her.

Phstk burst out in clicks and hisses as soon as the Captain left and the mobile emitter was slow at translating. He appeared quite agitated. "_It is the Stewards. They planned it from the beginning. How could I have been such a fool? They must have hid the analysis from me!_"

"What are you talking about?" Chakotay asked. "What have they planned?"

"_Don't you see?_" Phstk replied. "_An away mission. The nexus event has already started. I've told you, the probability is unity. The universes will merge. Janeway has already come from the future_."

Chakotay stepped up and held Phstk in place to keep him from floating off and hitting a wall. "You're not making sense," he said. "What do you mean Janeway has already come from the future. I thought you said time travel was an illusion."

"_It is. Not into this universe_," Phstk said. He still appeared agitated, but was calming down. "_Another universe. It's already happened_."

"We still don't understand what you mean."

"_How can you understand_?"

Seven stepped forward. "We can't unless you explain it to us."

Phstk shook to get out of Chakotay's grasp and then floated away. He appeared in control again. "_It won't make a difference. The fate of this universe is sealed_."

"It won't hurt to explain it then."

Phstk turned to Chakotay. The colors that had been pulsing over the surface of his skin were now muted. He drifted back to the group. "_Chakotay, do you remember your counterpart from the spatiotemporal confluence who had already returned to Earth_?"

"Yes," Chakotay replied. "I suppose I was a bit jealous of that one. His timeline and universe was the most like this one."

"_Do you recall his explanation of how Voyager got back to the alpha quadrant_?"

Chakotay thought for a moment. "He said _Voyager_ discovered and used a Borg transwarp conduit to reach home."

"_What he didn't say was that an Admiral Janeway from the future came to them and helped them not only find the Borg transwarp conduit, but to retrofit Voyager with armor from the future to withstand the inevitable Borg resistance. Those events have already happened. I've cataloged them myself in the manifold. That crew of Voyager in that universe made it to Earth and have been there for years. In all the subsequent splits in that universe, Voyager is in the alpha quadrant as well_."

"But you have said time travel is not possible," Marina interjected.

"_Time travel within the same universe_," Phstk corrected. "_What I specifically said was that time travel was the linking together of universes within the multiverse. In this case, the Admiral Janeway who came from the future in your counterpart's universe was, is, and will be the Captain Janeway from this universe_."

"Is that why you referred to Captain Janeway as being at the center of this nexus event you keep referring to?" Chakotay asked.

"_Yes_!"

"How does that affect us now?"

"_The probability is unity_," Phstk repeated. "_The fate of this universe is sealed. The nexus event has already begun. I was a fool and the instrument the Stewards used to begin the event. Captain Janeway must become Admiral Janeway, and Admiral Janeway must go back from this universe to the other. She already has, and she will_."

"What does this have to do with us now?" Chakotay repeated. "It seems that Captain Janeway doesn't do this for many years."

Phstk turned to face the three humans. His eye stalks moved from one to the other. "_Admiral Janeway was motivated primarily because of a great loss she suffered in this universe. And that loss will affect others that she cares for. All of it combines and encourages her to go back and change the past as she understands it_."

"What is this loss you speak of?" Seven asked. "Are you implying it is this event that is close at hand?"

"_Yes_," Phstk replied, the colors on his skin more vibrant for a moment. "_I knew it was close. The probability it would be within the next year was ninety-seven percent the last I checked._ _I am certain now the Stewards have arranged for it to be on the moon below. During our planned away mission that Captain Janeway mentioned_."

"What is this loss that Captain Janeway will suffer?" Seven repeated trying not to sound irritated.

Phstk's coloring was now muted again and back to a dark brown. It was apparent that Phstk was reluctant to say. After a long moment, he finally replied, "_The death of Seven of Nine_."

#

Author's Note: Yes, it's _that_ universe… Please review.


	6. Tempting Fate

Chapter 6 – Tempting Fate

"This is absurd," Chakotay spat. He stepped forward to place himself between Phstk and Seven, as if the danger might come from the former Steward. Unconsciously he clenched his fists. "And don't tell me the probability is unity! I don't give a damn about your predictions."

Phstk remained still and continued to hover impassively in front of Chakotay, Seven and Marina.

"Would the Stewards really…" Marina began, but realized her question had already been answered. If Phstk was correct, the Stewards had somehow arranged long ago for the contamination of the atmosphere of his entire world to keep him from escaping back to it now. The death of one individual to progress the course of a universe in a direction the Stewards thought appropriate would be inconsequential.

"_In this case, it is not a question of what the Stewards want_," Phstk finally said and his tentacles twitched. "_The events must take place because Admiral Janeway from this universe's future has already influenced another universe's past_." One of his stalks kept an eye on Chakotay. He had been careful not to mention the probability was unity, but the implication was clear. "_Of course, the Stewards still might play a role in ensuring the path this universe must take is followed to achieve and realize more advantageous probabilities. I believe this to be the case as they seek to gain control over the situation. The Stewards are likely monitoring us right now and making plans. Danger awaits us on the moon._"

"When you originally asked for our help, why didn't you say something about this nexus event and Seven's life being in jeopardy?" Chakotay asked.

Phstk's body pulsed a variety of colors. "_I can see you are upset, but from my perspective these nexus events are unavoidable and a natural progression within the multiverse. Just because I calculate the probabilities of a possible or inevitable future does not make me responsible for that future. If it is of any comfort, I am in the same predicament. It is likely my consciousness will be terminated somehow on the moon's surface. Although I have completely extricated myself from the manifold, I am not safe here. None of us are safe, except perhaps Chakotay._"

"Why me?"

"_Because I know you survive and reach Earth_."

"But Phstk," Seven said, her voice remarkably calm considering the situation. "You told Chakotay and me that we would have a child six months earlier than previously predicted due to Chakotay's last spatiotemporal confluence that you orchestrated. How can that have been true if now you also say there is a ninety-seven percent chance of me dying in the next year? And further, now you believe I am to die during an away mission sometime in the coming days."

Phstk drifted towards the Astrometrics display, by all appearance to put more distance between himself and Chakotay, although perhaps simply something equivalent to pacing for his species. For his part, although still mad, Chakotay no longer appeared upset with Phstk. More upset with the situation they were in. "_I said you would conceive a child six months earlier_," Phstk corrected. "_But if the Stewards are truly intervening, and this is the beginning of the nexus event, all my previous calculations and analyses are now invalid_."

Marina stepped over to a nearby equipment locker and retrieved a tricorder. She went up to Seven and scanned. A look of surprise crossed her face and she did the scan a second time to make sure. "Ah…" she stuttered, both smiling and worried. "Seven, you _are_ pregnant."

Chakotay demeanor suddenly changed. He smiled broadly and turned to embrace his wife. Then a horrible thought crossed through his mind. The idea that Seven and their child's life was in danger. The whole situation was unthinkable. There was joy and horror mixed on his face. He turned to face Phstk. "I can't accept this. There must be something we can do," he said. "The future of this universe is still not determined."

"_But there are certainties. Each universe progresses according to certain physical laws. The interaction between universes are governed by similar laws. These laws can't be broken for our convenience. Besides, whatever we plan, the Stewards will know._"

"Is _that_ a certainty? Is there no way to shield us from observation by the Stewards?" Chakotay asked.

Phstk drifted closer to Marina. His tentacles reached towards the tricorder, and Marina handed it to him. He examined the device for a few moments, and made some tentative entries before returning it to her. "_This is crude, but perhaps there is a way_," he finally replied. "_You were on the right track before. The lowering of the subspace potential is key. I would require time to make the adjustments and the range would be limited_."

Chakotay appeared buoyed by this. "I'll take what we can get." He turned to Seven. "We can beat this. We have free will and our fate is not predestined."

Phstk considered this statement for a moment. "_We all have a predestined fate_," he countered.

"But we can control that fate."

_"__Do you really have control? Let me ask you this. Will you die one day Chakotay_?"

Chakotay hesitated, not liking the sound of the question. He suspected where Phstk was going, but decided to play along. "I suppose we'll all die one day."

"_Even the Stewards will die one day. The stars within the galaxies in the various universes of the multiverse are born and die and new ones are born from the ashes of the previous generation, but that cycle won't last forever. We live at a time with second and third generation stars now, and there are sure to be several more generations after this. Eventually, however, the gases will be too thin and too much of the baryonic mass will be tied up in degenerate matter and singularities. When that time comes, no new stars will form, and what life remains will slowly be extinguished. Billions or trillions of years from now, that time will come. It is inevitable. And at that time, even the galaxies and the universes themselves will essentially die. Would you say death is our eventual fate?_"

Chakotay frowned. "I believe there is something beyond physical death," he said.

"_Perhaps_," Phstk replied quickly. "_I am a testament of that_."

"No. Not existence as a Steward. Not a consciousness trapped in a higher dimensional manifold. Something more. Unity with the Great Spirit, the force that created the multiverse in the first place."

Phstk moved closer._ "I also believe in something I cannot prove. The existence of the higher dimensional manifold, higher than the one in which the Stewards reside and the multiverse exists. Perhaps this is where your Great Spirit resides. But what of the physical life within the universe? Or the ephemeral life within the manifold. Is it our fate to die?_"

"The probability is unity," Chakotay repeated sarcastically, but then acquiesced. "Granted, some things must happen by their very nature. Governed by laws of physics, as you say. What I'm talking about is the untimely death of my wife. And my child. If there is a way to change _that_ fate, we must seek to find it."

"_I know of none_," Phstk replied. "_I myself made a record of Admiral Janeway's incursion from this universe to the other. Concerning the actual event, the Admiral said 'Three years from now. She'll be injured on an away mission. She'll make it back to Voyager, and die in the arms of her husband.' Regarding your reaction, Chakotay, the Admiral said 'He'll never be the same after Seven's death.' In all, twenty-two crew members will die before reaching Earth, and Tuvok will succumb to a degenerative neurological condition_."

Chakotay seemed startled. "A degenerative neurological condition?" he repeated.

"_That is what Admiral Janeway said_, _and it was later confirmed by Tuvok himself_."

"What is it Chakotay?" Seven queried.

Chakotay shook his head. "You know how Tuvok has been taking fewer shifts, and just recently stopped serving on the bridge at tactical. He and the Captain said it was a personal medical matter, but out of respect, asked not to divulge his condition to the crew. I didn't ask for the details, but now it makes sense." Chakotay turned to Phstk. "Why are you telling us all this? Aren't you worried that by divulging these things you will change our future?"

"_Think Chakotay. It doesn't matter what I say. Admiral Janeway has already said these things in another universe. Your Captain Janeway will experience these hardships and become that Admiral Janeway in this universe. There are no alternatives. There can be no paradoxes_."

"It does seem that, in this case, my fate is unavoidable," Seven remarked.

"Who are the other crew members who die?" Marina asked, her curiosity piqued.

"_I don't know_," Phstk replied. "_I only know what Admiral Janeway said in that other universe. I was not authorized to probe her thoughts or mind during my observations. The possibility of being detected was judged to be too great_."

"You can't look into the future and find out?"

"_No. The Stewards are restricted to linear time in a single dimension just as the rest of you in the multiverse. They keep in control by running probabilities and determining the best course forward for each universe. As for who are most likely to perish, the Stewards could calculate the possibilities and analyze the probabilities, but they won't know exactly who until the time comes. What they do know, however, what is a certainty is that twenty-two crew members will die_."

"You speak of the Stewards as being in control," Chakotay commented with a chuckle, "but in reality, they simply watch what happens and make a record of it."

"_That is not entirely accurate._ _Even within these restrictions, it may be the Stewards manipulate the outcomes to produce a more advantageous future for a particular universe_."

"More advantageous how?"

"_The Stewards seek to facilitate the End State, where all the universes re-merge within the multiverse_."

"But why?" Marina asked innocently.

Phstk pulsed some green colors, something apparently related to frustration. "_It is way of the Stewards. It is what the Stewards have done, are doing, and will do_," he finally said.

"I wonder how the Stewards got started in the first place," Chakotay mused. "How the first consciousnesses got into the higher dimensional manifold, and how this mission of theirs was formulated."

If Phstk knew the answer, he didn't divulge it.

"How might the Stewards intervene in a nexus event such as this?" Seven asked, getting the conversation back to the problem at hand. "Might there be some danger on the moon's surface they expose me to? Some equipment left by your people?"

"_No_," Phstk replied. "_The Stewards can only act through the consciousness of a living being_."

"They take control of our minds?"

"_Even observing within a mind tricky. Taking control is significantly more difficult_."

"As when you tried to control the speech of my counterpart in that other universe," Marina remarked.

"_You are correct_, "Phstk confirmed. "_Usually an intervention is far more subtle._ _The control is most effective when it is unknown to the life form_. _To do so, however, requires extensive planning and examining the consequences and mapping out future probabilities. It is only considered in extreme circumstances by the Stewards._"

"Would you consider this an extreme circumstance?" Seven asked.

"_Yes_."

"There is some plant and animal life on that larger moon," Seven commented. "Might they use one of these to attack me?"

Phstk considered this. "_It is possible_," he finally said, "_but highly unlikely in my estimation. The response of these lower sentient life forms are varied and unpredictable. It is more likely the Stewards would seek to control someone on the Voyager crew_."

"Perhaps we could condition ourselves to recognize this interference and prevent it," Chakotay suggested.

"_That is possible, but as I said,_ _I would suspect the control would be subtle. Even unnoticeable. It could be simply distracting the person's attention at a critical moment. It might not even be someone on the away mission, but perhaps the transporter chief in the act of beaming the away team back onboard_."

"Well, we're not going to give them the chance," Chakotay resolved. "At least not now before we can become better prepared. I say we avoid going down to any of the moons altogether. Heck, we could have Seven avoid away missions for the next year. Explain to the Captain this whole situation."

Seven didn't respond, but moved back to the Astrometrics controls. She scanned about the surface of the moon the Astrometrics sensors were currently focused on and studied the various structures. "I'm not certain that would be wise," she finally said. "Here, we can go to a landing site of our choosing, and with Phstk's help, anticipate what the Stewards move might be. It could be the time for us to act is now when we can take the initiative."

"Your apparent fate is to die on an away mission," Chakotay countered. "Let's not give the Stewards the chance."

"_I will of course help_," Phstk replied. "_But it is not the Stewards you need to worry about. It is the fate you so easily dismiss. I believe, Seven, we are both fated to die on that moon. You may try to refrain from going on an away mission for the next year, but your efforts will be for nothing. Somehow, sometime, it will happen. We both will die_."

"What are these structures here?" Seven asked, ignoring Phstk's comments. Centered on the Astrometrics display was a domed building with a number of spokes extending out in different directions for various lengths. At the end of two of the spokes were other smaller domes. The whole complex was on a flat river valley with what looked like a forest impinging on one side. In fact, one of the smaller domes was within the trees.

"_I would guess it is a research facility_," Phstk replied. "_In my time we were just beginning to explore the moons of our planet. This moon was particularly interesting for it had a number of species completely unknown in our planet's ecosystem_."

"I'm reading a similar energy signature at this facility as in the city we surveyed earlier. It's possible there are portions of this laboratory still functioning. What sort of equipment would a facility like this contain?"

"_If this laboratory was used in studying the indigenous life on the moon_," Phstk speculated "_it would have medical and veterinary capabilities, a means for containing the various life forms via force fields, and holographic technology to mimic ecosystem conditions in the holding enclosures. I would suspect a degree of anti-gravity systems to simulate atmospheric conditions on the home world for the comfort of the researchers, although my species is also quite capable of functioning in a high gravity environment as well. To power it all, there is probably a small reactor that is apparently still functioning on a stand-by mode_." Phstk was tapping the mobile emitter fixed to the side of his body with one of his tentacles as he spoke. "_Are you suggesting we might utilize the equipment in some way_?"

"Precisely. You alluded to the possibility of monitoring or blocking intervention by the Stewards, and you expertise using your own species technology would better enable us to achieve that. We could perhaps shield _Voyager_ entirely."

"_This is precisely why the Hierarchy will not tolerate my defection. My continued existence is every bit in jeopardy as yours. The Stewards are likely monitoring our plans right now. I still contend we have no hope of success_."

"Then we need to modify that tricorder and get working," Chakotay said. "Will you help us?"

"_I have already said I would do so_," Phstk replied. "_Although I think our effort will be short lived and come to naught for ultimately it is not the Stewards we contend with but the laws of physics between universes._" Phstk stopped tapping the mobile emitter and moved back closer to the group. He seemed distracted.

"What's the matter?" Marina asked.

"_I've been meaning to ask about this mobile emitter," _Phstk responded._ "It is not of this universe?_"

"You don't know?" Marina said surprised. "I would think you know everything."

"_I know a great deal about the universes I managed, but certainly not everything_."

For whatever reason, that made Chakotay feel better. "I suppose, from how you describe time travel, it's not of this universe. It's from twentieth century Earth, but using technology gleaned from a twenty-ninth century Federation time ship."

Phstk tapped it again. "_It has a complicated heritage, no doubt. Why have you not constructed duplicates? It appears quite useful, and from what I understand, The Doctor was not too happy letting me borrow it._"

"There are components within the device we have not been able to manufacture," Chakotay responded.

Phstk seemed satisfied. "_Seven's question earlier concerning what technology might be at the research facility reminded me that my people made extensive use of holography and had devices such as this. I wonder how much further the technology has advanced and what we might find on the moon_."

"What is it?" Marina asked. Phstk and Chakotay both turned to her, but she was not addressing either of them. She was looking at Seven who stood with her mouth open as if she just had a revelation.

Seven stood like this for several more seconds, and then smiled. She stepped towards Marina, took the tricorder and then handed it to Phstk. "Make your adjustments, I have an idea."

#

Author's Note: Two more chapters to go.


	7. A Probability of Unity

Chapter 7 – A Probability of Unity

The Away Team materialized inside the main dome of the laboratory facility on the surface of the moon. Chakotay, Seven, and Marina all wore breathing masks. The oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere of the moon itself was breathable, but the facility was designed for Phstk's species, and thus had an atmosphere more like that of the planet the moon circled. Due to leakage over the centuries, the air within the dome was now more like that of the moon's, but enough contaminants remained as to be still too noxious for the humans. For Phstk, being a hologram projected from the Doctor's mobile emitter, it didn't matter one way or the other.

The walls of the dome were opaque with only a small amount of light coming from windows on the doors around the periphery of the room. The three humans turned on the lights attached to the forearms and illuminated the interior. It was the first time in over a thousand years that someone stood within the room. Despite this, the reactor that powered the facility was still operating at a low level. Everything else was neat and orderly. When the facility was abandoned, it was obviously done in a manner with the intent to one day return.

Phstk quickly surveyed the equipment and floated to the center of the room. In fact, the only way to get to the control station located there was over several other consoles that formed a ring about the center. Obviously the aliens used their anti-gravity technology within this room when it was occupied. "_Bring me some light over here_," he said. Marina stepped forward and aimed her light onto the console Phstk hovered above while Chakotay and Seven remained where they were and continued to scan the room with their lights. The outer periphery had what could be considered a flat floor with doors spaced every five meters or so. It was apparent that the doors led to the spokes that radiated out from this central dome. There were eight doors in all.

Phstk touched some controls and lights flashed on instantly around the room. There was a low hum and a ventilation system also started. A few seconds later, the ventilation stopped but the hum remained.

"_No sense refreshing the atmosphere to that of my planet_," Phstk commented. "_No one can breathe it, including myself_."

"Perhaps we should open the dome to the outside to clear out the air a bit so we can take off these breathers," Chakotay said.

Phstk examined the controls in front of him for a moment, and then made some movement with his tentacles. One of the doors opened and a green warning light flashed above the entrance. After entering a few more commands, the green light stopped. Some sunlight streamed into the room from the open door.

"_That door opens directly to the outside. I don't think it was ever meant to be used. It's there to accommodate an additional spoke structure. The other doors lead to the various habitat enclosures along the directions that do have spokes._"

Chakotay stepped over and opened the door wider. He kept his mask on, for it would take time to clear out the original atmosphere. The facility was on rocky soil with no plant life apparent nearby. In the distance at the end of the spoke on the left, the forest began. Beyond that, the sky was dominated by the large disk of the planet, half hidden by the horizon. The moon was tidally locked such that its rotation period exactly equaled its revolution period about the planet. Thus, the planet would always be in that same perspective from this location on the moon.

"Phstk, what's our time like?" Seven asked. She tried to keep her voice calm, but was obviously a bit tense and wanting to keep things moving. Chakotay quickly moved back inside the dome.

Phstk didn't answer, but returned to studying the console in front of him. More commands entered and another door opened. This one led into one of the spokes, two to the right of the door open to the outside. Phstk then left the control area in the center of the room and moved towards the periphery near the newly opened door. The others followed him there. On the wall by the door was a set of recessed shelves. On the top shelf were small octagonal objects. Phstk pointed to the objects and then turned to Chakotay and Seven. Both picked up one of the octagons.

"Seven and I will explore the area in this enclosure," Chakotay said, motioning to the open door. "Marina, assist Phstk in preparing the reactor for removal to _Voyager_."

"Yes sir," Marina replied. She seemed distressed, almost as if she was unwilling to let Chakotay and Seven out of her sight. The four of them lingered for a moment, and then finally, Marina nodded quickly and added, "Good luck."

Chakotay and Seven nodded back in understanding. They each detached a tricorder from their belt and turned it on before passing through the door into the enclosure.

"Where do you want me?" Marina asked.

Phstk returned to the control station at the center of the room. After examining it, he pointed one of his tentacles to a box like structure along the wall about ninety degrees from the door which Seven and Chakotay had gone through. "_The reactor is there_," he said. "_Go stand about one meter in front of it and wait for the others to return_."

Marina sighed heavily and moved to the position indicated.

"Steady Marina," Phstk said. He was still at the control station entering in some more commands. After he finished, he moved towards Marina. "We'll get through this."

Chakotay and Seven now exited the door. They looked about the room, and then walked towards the others. Seven positioned herself next to Marina and Phstk, and then Marina stepped back a few paces. Chakotay came and stood next to Marina.

"_We are attempting to power down the reactor now_," Phstk remarked. "_Stand ready with your lights_."

"Go ahead," Chakotay affirmed.

At first nothing seemed to happen, but then there was a crackling sound that emanated from the reactor. Suddenly an energy discharge leapt from the reactor and hit both Seven and Phstk. Seven was thrown to the floor, residual electrical flashes dancing on her Borg ocular implant. Phstk's holomatrix started to destabilize, his image flashing with horizontal discontinuities. Chakotay stepped forward and reached for the mobile emitter just as Phstk's pattern completely disappeared.

Marina screamed. She lurched forward unsure of herself and looked wild-eyed at Seven's body on the floor. Chakotay moved clumsily, as if his legs refused to function correctly. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out, only an incoherent gasp. He awkwardly handed Marina the mobile emitter and then collapsed to the floor cradling Seven in his arms. Marina touched her comm badge.

"_Voyager_! Emergency beam out directly to sick bay. There's been an accident!"

#

Captain Kathryn Janeway rushed into sick bay. Her First Officer was sitting on the floor, and cradled in his arms was Seven of Nine. Seven's eyes were closed and her breathing labored. There was an ugly burnt spot on the front of her uniform and the flesh about her ocular implant was an angry red. "What happened?" Janeway barked.

Chakotay turned, but was incoherent. "I… I," he stuttered, but gave up and turned back to his wife. He was obviously in shock. The Doctor was scanning Seven with a medical tricorder and shaking his head.

"Seven and Phstk were hit with an energy discharge when we attempted to power down the reactor," Marina said. She was crying. "It all happened so fast."

Janeway turned back to the Doctor. "How is she Doctor?"

"There's nothing I can do," The Doctor replied in desperation. "Her Borg components have fused and her cortical node has shut down."

Janeway stumbled back, as if hit by a physical blow. She steadied herself against a table. "Can you remove the damaged components and revive her?"

"I can't," The Doctor said in a daze. "She's dying."

Chakotay began rocking back and forth and moaning softly. "No," he whispered. "Nooooo."

Janeway stepped forward and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, still in shock at the suddenness of the incident. It must be so much worse for him. She turned back to Marina. "What happened to Phstk?"

"Phstk appears to be gone," Marina replied. She was holding the mobile emitter in her hand. "There is no evidence of his presence left in the mobile emitter."

Janeway returned her gaze to Seven and gasped. Danger was part of the job in Starfleet, and death always a possibility. But this crew. Her crew. They had become her family these past ten years. Each loss she felt deeply, but this was too much. The loss of Seven, her protégé, was a personal blow.

The Doctor turned off his tricorder. The complex programs and algorithms of his holomatrix expressed the shock he felt. He looked up to the Captain, pain in his eyes. "She's gone."

The words cut Janeway like a knife. Seven had meant a great deal to her. More than she realized up to this moment. Chakotay was obviously devastated as well. He was slumped over the inert body of his wife.

How could they, how could she, possibly recover from this?

#

Author's note: Stay with me now. One more chapter to go and I'll post it right away.


	8. Reflections

Chapter 8 – Reflections

"As I was preparing to intervene and substitute my consciousness with hers and send her into a transmuted parallel stream," the first Steward said, "an energy discharge emanated from the power unit and incapacitated the subject and the dissident Steward contained in the holomatrix device."

The second Steward chuckled. "As I predicted, our planned intervention proved unnecessary. The probability of the subject's termination was already unity." Only the two of them were in the construct, this time a sterile looking office. The first Steward shifted uncomfortably. She was sitting in a chair opposite her superior, but the room felt too small. "It was a wise precaution, however, to be prepared with your contingency," the second Steward added patronizingly.

"The subject later expired aboard the vessel, as predicted and fulfilling all nexus criteria," the first Steward continued, although she seemed displeased. "The dissident is gone and presumed expired as well. No trace remains in the manifold or within the holomatix device or within the vessel's main computer which he originally occupied. He is simply gone."

"A shame," the second Steward remarked. "He showed promise."

The first Steward frowned. Something was troubling her. "In the end, key indicators for this universe actually improved by eight point six percent and the general deviation remains nominal." She allowed her frown to linger. "Almost too good," she added, not quite under her breath as she intended.

The second Steward seemed to grow in size for a moment. "What are you implying?" it said in a soft rumble.

Now was her opportunity. It had asked, after all. "Your Excellency," the first Steward began. "There were indications the dissident and the subjects were making plans..."

"And we've seen the results of these plans," the second Steward interrupted. "Ironically it was the very reactor they wished to utilize that killed them both." The second Steward again appeared to grow in size, or the construct shrunk. "The dissident is gone. The universe in question remains on track within nominal deviations." His voice had also increased in volume.

The first Steward ignored the warning signs and persisted. "The dissident used the subject's technology to block our observations for a time. Even now, the remaining subject does the same."

"To be expected. It is of no consequence."

"And on the moon's surface, when the two subjects left to investigate the other structure, the same block was put up and remains in place. Further, the energy discharge was not predicted in any of our models or simulations. I was wondering…"

"Enough of this," the second Steward interrupted again. "This unfortunate incident has ended. We are in control of the situation."

The first Steward laughed, surprised at herself for having done so. Why was she being so impertinent? What did she have to gain? There was fury in the second Steward's image, but she again didn't heed the warning, or didn't care at the moment. There were too many inconsistencies. "Control? We did nothing. The events unfolded without our intervention, as if controlled by random chance." The first Steward shook her head. "I question if the Stewards were needed at all, or if it is not we who were controlled by another force…"

The second Steward smoldered within the construct. "If I didn't know better," it began in a steely voice, "I would suspect you believed in this higher-dimensional space the dissident spoke of." The softness of its voice had an even more chilling effect on the other than when it had yelled. She shrunk back.

"No your Excellency," the first Steward responded. She cast her eyes down to the floor of the construct. This was one battle she couldn't possibly win. Not now.

"The Stewards are vital to the multiverse," the second Steward continued. "Without us in control, there would be chaos. Far too many branches. Far too many splits. Far too much discontinuity and discord. It is we who will bring about the End State and the universal consciousness. It is we who control and manage the multiverse itself."

The first Steward nodded, but remained silent. She continued to manifest an image of her deferring to its authority.

The second Steward paused, and then made a decision. "Erase all records of this incident. There shall be nothing left in the manifold. No follow-up on the subjects. No probability assessments or contingency analyses. The disappearance of the dissident Steward shall be attributed to a random disassociation event and not be investigated further. Assign his duties to another and requisition a replacement. Do you understand?"

"Yes your Excellency. It will be done as you say."

#

"Enter."

The door to Chakotay and Seven's quarters opened and Marina Jor stepped in. She was still in her full dress uniform. The last two days had left her drained. The room was dimly lit and Marina could just make out a form sitting at a table by the window. He was looking at his hand, and opening and closing it methodically. Marina stepped closer and saw the familiar tattoo and black hair tinged with gray on the sides.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Still a lot to get used to," he replied absently.

Marina glanced out the window. The stars streaked past. They were back at warp. Seven's funeral had ended earlier, the body encased within a class 2 probe and ejected out into space. It had been emotional and awful. And now here they were, heading back to the alpha quadrant. That knowledge didn't comfort her. She knew better. It would be many years before they reached their destination, and in those years, there would be many deaths. And she missed her friends.

"It was her plan," he said. He had stopped and was now looking up at Marina. "It was what she wanted."

"I know," Marina replied and sighed heavily. Fresh tears streaked down her cheeks. She sat down in the other chair. "I don't want to know anything about the future. What's stopping me from trying to change it and going to Captain Janeway and telling her everything?"

There was no answer at first. The stars slipped by silently, stretched into tiny rainbows by the warp field. "Because you would rather see him happy. You would rather see them happy. In the universes in which they meet, they are inexorably drawn together."

Marina frowned. Chakotay had been her mentor and friend. She had joined his cell and fought at his side. "Is it the same for everyone? Do we all have… a match?"

"Across the universes, there do appear to be individuals that are drawn together. In family. As friends. As mates."

Marina considered this. "Do you know who I'm inexorably drawn to in this universe?"

He hesitated. "No. All I know are the probabilities over many universes. The universes where _Voyager_ is brought to the Delta Quadrant, and the universes where it's not, and the universes where it's destroyed. The universes where the same can be said for the _Val Jean_. Those are but two variables in a multitude of other possibilities playing out through and within the multiverse. The incredible thing is how close most of the universes still end up. The same species, the same individuals interacting and living in slightly altered circumstances. It is, perhaps, the origin of the Stewards' mission. To re-merge the universes as they sometimes do naturally. Chakotay and Seven are together in the majority of the universes of the multiverse, but not all."

There was a long silence. The two of them lost in their own individual thoughts.

"Who is it that I…?" Marina began, but the question died on her lips.

"Do you really want to know?"

Marina shook her head. "No. The future… _my_ future is still undetermined, and I'm going to keep it that way. I will take it as it comes."

"As I will. My holoimager will last, and with the modifications Seven made to the Doctor, I will go undetected until such time as we return to Earth. Ironically, only Tuvok or you might have been able to expose me for who I really am, but that won't happen either." He paused. Breathed in deeply and breathed out, as if he consciously had to remember to do that. "Then I will die, and finally rest. And this body will be buried and the truth will be buried with it just as it was for Seven's."

"I wonder what comes after that." Marina said wistfully.

"Perhaps our ultimate fate is to join with this Great Spirit Chakotay spoke of."

"In the higher dimensioned manifold," Marina added with a smile. "A megaverse of multiverses."

Again there was silence, but he smiled awkwardly. "As for between now and then, all I know is that Chakotay was never the same after this, and so I must play the part."

Marina laughed. "That won't be too hard for you to pull off." She wiped the tears from her face and stared at him for a long time. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He flexed his hand again, as if getting used to the movement. He looked about the quarters, as if seeing through his eyes for the first time. "I still have a lot to get used to."

#

_Four months later._

Chakotay straightened and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. He had just finished transplanting several rows of their favorite plant in the small patch of earth he had cleared for the garden near their home. His hands were covered with dirt, but he smiled at the results. In a few months, they would have a respectable crop. The seeds provided a passable grain for making bread, and even the leaves were edible in a salad. He glanced up at the ever present disk of the planet above. It and the moon's landscape around him were bathed in the light of the setting sun. The storms in the atmosphere of the planet providing a striped pallet of interesting colors on the day side, and a large electrical storm in the northern hemisphere danced about the clouds on the night side. At night and during eclipses, these storms and the aurora on the planet as viewed from the moon were quite spectacular. Nodding satisfactorily, he turned and moved back towards the structure.

They had constructed their home inside one of the habitat enclosures on the spoke Phstk had originally directed them to. The holographic systems were easy to program, and so their home was very much like what the inside of their quarters had been on _Voyager_. It was fortunate the holomatrix design was so similar to Federation technology, although Phstk had already assured them they would have no trouble. It had been an easy matter for he and Seven to transfer their patterns and the holoprograms to the mobile emitters Phstk had provided that day now nearly four months ago.

As he neared, Chakotay heard Seven talking to someone and realized she was actually in the main dome, most likely consulting with Florence. Florence was a medical hologram, or more precisely, a veterinarian of Phstk's species trained to help with caring for the animal life on this moon being studied in the laboratory. As it turned out, some of those animals happened to be mammals. In fact, a pack of canines visited near their structure each night. They discovered her holoprogram early on during their stay, and she was proving to be indispensable for Seven's pregnancy.

Chakotay stepped into the dome and the hologram was hovering over Seven examining her with several instruments held in four of her tentacles. One of its eye stalks turned. "Good evening Chakotay."

"Good evening Florence," Chakotay replied. "How are our patients?"

"Everything is progressing nicely," Florence replied in a cheery voice. Fortunately Seven had been able to reprogram the universal translator to interface directly with the holomatrix and give the doctor a 'voice'. "Those little mechanical devices in Seven's blood are being a bit of a nuisance, but we'll manage. Your baby girl is doing just fine."

"That's good to hear," Chakotay replied. He had walked up to the two of them and then reached over and squeezed Seven's hand. Her abdomen was extended slightly, evidence of the child, their child, within.

"So we're good to go?" Seven asked Florence cryptically.

Florence released a hiss that was not translated, but then added. "Everything should be fine." With that, Florence placed down some instruments she had been holding in her tentacles onto a tray. "I will give you two some privacy," she said, and then phased out as holograms do when going inactive. A small octagon floated down and came to rest beside the medical instruments.

"Alone at last," Seven smiled.

"We've been alone on this moon ever since Marina and Phstk left."

Seven shrugged. "You know what I mean."

Chakotay became contemplative. "I know I've asked you before, but do you really think we need to stay here? We found those shuttles in the other dome, and they're in perfect condition. We could possibly even catch up to _Voyager_."

Seven shook her head. "You know what Florence has recommended."

"We could take her with us?"

Seven frowned slightly. "We'll use the shuttle sometime and check out the neighborhood. For now, it's safer for the baby here. Besides, I agree with Phstk. I don't think we'd ever make it to _Voyager_, no matter how hard we tried."

"Fate? The laws of physics between universes?"

"Call it what you want." She hopped off the examination table. "Is it so bad to be stuck here with me?"

Chakotay laughed. "Of course not." He paused, however, and furrowed his brow. "I just feel awful about what Kathryn must be going through, and the rest of the crew. They think you're dead. And as for me…"

"I know," Seven replied more seriously. "I'm unhappy about that as well, but there's nothing we can do. Believe me, there are universes where their conditions could be much worse." Her eyes took on a faraway look, the memory of some of those universes still fresh in her mind. She had shared these experiences with Chakotay, and he came forward with the intent of giving her a hug of comfort, but stepped back due to the dirt on his hands and clothes.

Seven looked at her husband and shook her head. Enough of that. This was her universe. She didn't have to worry about any others. She brightened and said, "Now, I think you should clean up and come join me in our quarters." She raised her ocular implant ever so slightly.

Chakotay grinned. "Oh… Now? Before we eat dinner?"

Seven took a few steps towards the door that led to their quarters, and then glanced back. Her hair was down and cascaded over her shoulder and she wore a provocative half-smile. "The probability is unity, I would say."

#

THE END

Author's Note: I hope you've enjoyed this last of the "Alternatives" follow-on stories. Please review. (Why not? You made it this far, slugging through some of those previous chapters, and I apologize for all the higher dimensions, holographic technobabble, and discussions of death/fate. I'd love to hear from you. Did I give too much away or did I not explain enough? I fear a bit of both…) I do have two more epilogue chapters in "Unite" to write, and then the "Alternatives" series will be complete (and escape5's mandate will be satisfied).


End file.
